Vintage Grade I win for Tin Man

Although the majority of his contemporaries have long since been retired, The Tin Man is still active and winning Grade I stakes races.

In his first start since Sept. 30 and his first as a 9-year-old, the amazing gelding defeated a quality field, all of whom were at least three years his junior, in the $370,200 Shoemaker Breeders’ Cup Mile on Monday at Hollywood Park.

In matching the legendary John Henry as a horse who won a Grade I at age 9, the son of Affirmed tracked a moderate pace under jockey Victor Espinoza, then took over in the stretch to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:34.34.

Owned by breeders Ralph and Aury Todd and trained by Richard Mandella, The Tin Man, who was the 7-2 second choice, now has 13 wins in 28 starts and the $238,920 payday pushed his earnings to $3,365,780.

“He’s better than he’s ever been,” said Mandella after collecting his first win of the spring-summer meet. “He loves what he’s doing, he’s confident and luckily he is healthy and sound. Everything he does is extra satisfying.”

Although a defense of his title in the Arlington Million is a possibility for later in the year, Mandella mentioned he has been thinking of trying The Tin Man on the Cushion track at Hollywood Park, given how well the old-timer has trained over the synthetic surface.

A possible destination could be the $750,000 Hollywood Gold Cup on June 30.

That could lead to a showdown with Lava Man, another very talented gelding who has won the track’s signature race the last two years.

Get Funky, a 15-1 shot who got the lead briefly in the final eighth of a mile, gained second, a nose in front of pacesetter and 12-1 outsider Willow O Wisp. Kip Deville, the 7-5 favorite who was looking for his fourth win in a row, didn’t have the best of trips and wound up sixth.

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Trainer Bobby Frankel picked up his third victory in seven years in the $367,800 Gamely Breeders’ Cup Stakes when 4-5 favorite Citronnade, despite a tardy start, led virtually throughout to win her fourth race in a row.

At the finish of her 1:45.73 journey for the 1 1/8 miles on turf, Citronnade, who is owned by breeder Frank Stronach, had three-quarters of a length on 4-1 third choice and 2006 Matriarch winner Price Tag, who is also trained by Frankel.

“She just kept giving me another gear every time,” said winning rider David Flores. “In the middle of the turn, she really picked it up. I hit her a couple of times, and I didn’t want to let up because I could see Price Tag coming.”

The Gamely was marred by the fatal breakdown of fourth-place finisher Three Degrees, who incurred a leg injury right on the finish line. Two of her owners, David Bienstock and Charles Winner, experienced the highs and lows of racing in a short period.

Not long before the Gamely, Fantastic Spain, a 7-year-old they race with trainer Neil Drysdale, scored an 8-1 upset in the $200,000-added Golden Gate Fields’ Breeders’ Cup.

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It was a son-father exacta in the $600,000 Metropolitan Handicap on Monday at Belmont Park.

Corinthian, a 9-1 shot trained by Jimmy Jerkens for Centennial Farms, held off 24-1 outsider Political Force, trained by Jerkens’ father, Allen, to win the Grade I by three-quarters of a length.

Ridden by Kent Desormeaux, the 4-year-old Pulpit colt tracked the pace from the outside, got the lead early in the stretch and went on to win in 1:34.77.

“The work he had a week ago [five furlongs in 58 seconds] was beyond anything I ever saw,” said the younger Jerkens. “I never had a horse do what he did.... I thought if he didn’t run well today, he just wasn’t good enough.”

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Jockey Garrett Gomez won all three of the graded stakes run at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas, on Monday.

bob.mieszerski@latimes.com